ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee Cecil Jones was honored for his long service to the Rowell Ranch Rodeo on May 15, when the rodeo board named the arena for him in ceremonies during the matinee performance.
Jones, 92, first came to the Bay Area-rodeo as a competitor in 1939, riding bareback horses and saddle broncs, before going to work for Harry Rowell, who founded the rodeo in 1921. Jones served as president of the Rowell Ranch Rodeo for more than 20 years.
“I’ve been with it consistently since 1947,” Jones told the Hayward Review. “Not many rodeos stay this way, but the surrounding area knows how good it’s been.”
Jones was the secretary of the first National Final Rodeo in Dallas in 1959 and worked coordinating the Grand National Rodeo in San Francisco for 33 years. He also served two terms on the PRCA Board of Directors.
He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2000 in the Rodeo Notable category.
Family, friends and fans gathered May 15 at the 90th annual Rowell Ranch Rodeo in Hayward, Calif., to celebrate the dedication of the arena to ProRodeo Hall of Famer Cecil Jones. Standing left to right in front of Flying U Rodeo''s Lee and Levi Rosser, horseback, are Rowell Ranch Rodeo Committeeman Chris Peterson, who designed and crafted the new Cecil Jones Arena sign as well as the replica presented to Jones during the in-arena dedication ceremony; eight-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc rider Bill Martinelli; three-time NFR bareback rider, NFR judge and former Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Executive Vice President Bob Eidson; 1989 NFR barrelman Jess Franks, who also works on the popular Cowboy Reunion in Las Vegas each December; eight-time NFR bull rider Jim Charles (Martinelli, Eidson and Charles also answer to the "Three Amigos"); Rowell Ranch Rodeo Chairman Russ Fields; Jones; PRCA Director of Communications Kendra Santos; PRCA Rodeo Editor and Advertising Manager Blaine Santos (the Jones and Santos families have been friends for four generations now); legendary California cattleman and cowboy Phil Stadtler (who badly broke his right leg in the tie-down roping event at the 1939 Rowell Ranch Rodeo); Oakdale Cowboy Museum Executive Director Christie Camarillo (who''s the sister of roping legends Leo and Jerold, and a cousin to Reg, all of whom will be inducted this fall into the Oakdale Cowboy Museum); and 2010 Rowell Ranch Rodeo Queen Bridgette Trahan. Jones, 92, entered his first Rowell Ranch Rodeo as a bareback and saddle bronc rider in 1939, and hasn''t missed the event since 1947. Born in Idaho in 1917, Jones and his late wife, Fan, moved into a little white house on the Rowell Ranch in 1946. Cecil went to work early in his career for Harry and Maggie Rowell, who founded the rodeo in 1921, as ranch manager. He then managed, and later owned, Rowells Saddlery in nearby Castro Valley. Jones has served on the committee nearly 50 years, and has been the rodeo''s president the past 25 years-plus. He was secretary of the first NFR in Dallas in 1959, and also served two terms on the PRCA Board of Directors.
